DJ MARIO ORDUNO @ echo

Posted by damara - filed in All Ages, echo, events

dumdumgirls

Originally, Dum Dum Girls was a one-woman show. Kristin Gundred (stage name Dee Dee) first introduced the project as a bare-bones experiment, taking lo-fi 60s pop and beating it to all hell on DDG’s self-titled debut EP. But unlike your average bedroom artist with a four-track and a thing for the Ronettes, Dee Dee was writing songs that were as catchy as they were well-rounded, even when buried under a thick layer of scuzz. (She accomplished the same with the Mayfair Set, an equally scuffed collaboration with Blank Dogs.)

I Will Be still retains her EP’s grit, but smartly updates the sound, enlisting three new members (including ex-Vivian Girl Frankie Rose) and hiring Richard Gottehrer (co-writer of the eternal “My Boyfriend’s Back” and producer of records by seminal groups like the Go-Go’s and Blondie) to produce alongside Dee Dee. The result is a more accessible version of Dum Dum Girls, bolstered by terrific harmonies (three of the four girls contribute vocals) and a crisper rhythm section. Most notable of all is the production: No longer a lo-fi group, DDG are now a rock band, and an occasionally ferocious one at that. Gottehrer and Dee Dee are perfect foils: She protects the song’s fuzzy edges; he enhances the pure pop pleasures with a more textured bite.

All of this technical detail would be lost, however, if it weren’t for the fact that these songs are genuine earworms, both unfailingly hip and often wonderfully associative. Most adhere to a deep romanticism that details the various incarnations of love, from the fatalistic (“Yours Alone”, featuring guitar work from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner) to the overprotective (“Everybody’s Out”). There is an air of disaffection that peppers a lot of these songs (for example, “Oh Mein M” is sung entirely in German), but they never end up feeling too cool for school, with their giddy bounce often fostering a more inclusive feel than anything else. The quick highs, dissatisfaction, and longing can’t hide how terrifically fun most of I Will Be is. – Pitchfork

crocodiles

Crocodiles || Watch

When we gathered up our favorite artists’ year-end lists No Age included Crocodiles’ “Neon Jesus” as one of their top 10 “shredders” of ’08: “[Crocodiles are] a great new band from San Diego. This song is a real good kinda early eighties electro punk pop jam. It is super catchy.” All true, but something No Age didn’t mention is that it also sounds — in a great way — like Velvet Underground-swinging Jesus & Mary Chain. And if you take a look at one of the sunglasses-with-attitude photos of ex-Prayers/The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower’s Charles Rowland (guitar, synth) and Brandon Welchez (vocals, programming), there’s more to it than just the sound. The below picture’s pretty colorful, but songs like “I Wanna Kill” and “Summer Of Hate” are more shades of gray, despite the hooks (in the same way the brothers Reid can make rain, psycho candy, and darklands sounds so inviting). It also shouldn’t be surprising that they’ve posted Crystal Stilts on their Skull Kontrol blog. Sound comparisons aside, the two recently followed fellow Southern California distortion lover Wavves, signing a two album deal with Fat Possum. The first one, Summer Of Hate, is out in May. We have No Age’s beloved “Neon Jesus” along with “I Wanna Kill” and “Summer Of Hate.” Dig into the feedback. – Stereogum

plus:
Dunes
Soft Healer
DJ Mario Orduno (Art Fag Recordings)